John Locke And John Stuart Mill's Definition Of Freedom

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state of nature and thus exists
in a state of uncontrollable liberty which has only the law of nature to
restrict it, which is reason. (Locke 5) However Locke does state that man does
not have the license to destroy himself or any other creature in his possession
unless a legitimate purpose requires it. Locke emphasizes the ability and
opportunity to own and profit from property as being necessary to be free.
In On Liberty John Stuart Mill defines liberty in relation to three
spheres; each successive sphere progressively encompasses and defines more
elements relating to political society. The first sphere consists of the
individuals "inward domain of consciousness; demanding liberty of conscious in
the most comprehensive sense; liberty of thought and feeling; absolute freedom
of opinion and sentiment on all subjects, practical or speculative, scientific,
moral, or theological." (Mill 13) The second sphere of Mill's definition
encompasses the general freedoms which allow an ...

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and the specific and
limited ends Locke believes political societies ought to have. According to
Locke the only freedoms men should lose when entering into a political society
are "equality, liberty and executive power they has in the state of nature into
the hands of society." (Locke 73) In Locke's ideal society this fails to limit
or remove any freedom from the individual, it only removes the responsibility of
protecting these freedoms from the individual and places it on the state.
John Stuart Mill believes that man's should be strictly limited in
political society. Mill differs from Locke in the basic principle that
individual who enjoy the benefits of living in political ...

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